In 1885, Edward and other Providence Art Club members formed the Ann-Eliza Club, which served as a place where the discussion of art issues happened and as a men's club for Providence artists. Stetson and Whitaker were frequent speakers. Edward, intellectually minded and well-read, participated in these forums. He acted as respondent to a Stetson lecture on the nude in art, and in his own 1886 lecture, "The Artist and His Critics," which admonished art critics not to abuse their power and defined the "true artistic spirit" and the qualities the critic should consider in judging works of art.
The essays presented here are transcriptions of presentations given at the Ann-Eliza Club by fellow artists who lived and worked alongside Edward and who may have spent time in his studio talking about art and the artist. More presentations will be added as time permits. A special thanks goes to Elizabeth Zimmerman who helped me transcribe some of the texts and to the staff at the Rhode Island Historical Society.
The original documents are a part of the Ann Eliza Club Records from the Collections of the Rhode Island Historical Society.